De-bunking the myths of English Cookery
One delicious recipe at a time

Recipes that are delicious and that always work!

You know these recipes are delicious because if I didn't think that they were fabulous . . . I wouldn't be showing them to you. You can also be sure that these recipes work for the same reason! The rest is simply a matter of taste.

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Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 16 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past fifteen years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Marie Rayner cooks and writes from a little terraced house where she lives with her man the Toddster, and their little pup Mitzie.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

What to eat now!

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Buy My Cookbook

A lot of you have suggested that I write a cookbook. The good news is I already have. Recipes From The Big Blue Binder. A delicious sampling of all my tried and trues, and family favourites gleaned from a lifetime of love and good cookin'! Find such favourites asBanana Granola Pancakes, Mom's Split Pea Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza, and Grammy Woodworth's Blueberry Buckleto name but a few. 178 pages of delicious recipes and beautiful colour pictures, available as a lovely book or as a download. You can click on the book to go to my storefront to purchase. If you already own it, please feel free to leave feedback on my Lulu page. Thanks so much!

I have made Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza's before and they are pretty scrum if you ask me. (The recipe for this is also in my cookbook, Recipes From the Big Blue Binder. See my left hand sidebar for more info on that!) Today I decided to make something a bit different though . . .

The weather has been so hot and muggy . . . we are craving cool food. Food which is easy and quick to prepare and which gets us in and out of the kitchen quickly, but it also has to be pleasing and filling . . .

Bacon. Crisp, salty bacon. Doesn't bacon make everything taste gloriously fabulous? I know . . . I am a bacon fiend. I try not to eat it very often, but come on . . . you just got to have it on a Chicken Caesar . . . don't you??? Whether it's a scrummy salad, a tasty Pizza . . . or . . .

A fabulously easy and tasty Sarnie! NOM! NOM! These were seriously good.

The
amounts given here are for two, but you can easily adapt for more. The
dressing does make enough for about 4 to 6 servings and is delicious
in it's own right.

For the chicken:

one large chicken breast, cut into 4 thin slices lengthwise, also called paillards

lemon pepper seasoning

For the garlic toasts:

Four slices of sour dough bread, about 1/2 inch thick

softened butter
garlic seasoning

chopped parsley

coarse black pepper

For the Dressing:

4 TBS good quality mayonnaise

the juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard

1 anchovy filet in oil, drained and mashed

1 garlic clove, finely minced

2 TBS olive oil

a good handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese

cracked black pepper

To finish:

2 baby gem lettuces coarsely sliced

4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked crisp

a few leaves of flat leaf parsley, torn

A few flakes of Parmesan cheese

Lemon wedges

Whisk
the dressing ingredients together until well combined. I use my
immersion blender for this. You should have a slightly thick dressing.
If it is too thick, thin a bit with some water. Taste and adjust
seasoning as necessary.

Cook the chicken.
Season it liberally on all sides with lemon pepper. Heat a large
nonstick skillet. Spray with some low fat cooking spray. Add the
chicken and cook for about 2 minutes per side, until cooked through and
golden, but not dry. Remove from the heat immediately and set aside.
If you have not cooked the bacon yet. Wipe out the pan and cook it
until crisp.

Heat the grill of the oven. Spread both
sides of each slice of sour dough bread with butter. Sprinkle one side
only of each with the garlic seasoning, chopped parsley and black
pepper. Grill until golden brown, flip over and grill the other side.

Place
two garlic toasts on each of two plates. Top each with some of the pan
grilled chicken slices. Top with the sliced lettuces and a few torn
parsley leaves. Drizzle each with some of the dressing. Top with some
bacon and flakes of Parmesan cheese. Garnish with a few slices of lemon
and serve immediately.

I think I baked my absolute most favourite cake of the year today! And, YES , that IS saying a lot!! I picked up the August issue of G...

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Due to increased interest, I have decided to offer my illustrated cookbooklets on a permanent basis. At present there are five on offer, but I will be adding to them from time to time so do check back often. You can find them all by clicking on the COOKBOOKLET heading above. I think you will find that they are good value for money spent and they make delightful and economical gifts for your friends and family. Thanks so much for looking!

They are titled: A Very Royal Tea Party, The Great British Picnic, Christmas in The English Kitchen, Recipes to Keep, and Spring into Summer.

All are recipes that you will not find on my blog anywhere.

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I can't pretend to know everything, but I more than welcome your questions and suggestions. Feel free to e-mail me on MarieAliceJoan at aol dot com and I'll endeavour to find out the answers to your most burning questions. Maybe we can learn together!